News

A private New York-based real estate investment company that focuses on North American energy projects has reached an agreement with officials in Farmington, New Mexico, to keep the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station open beyond 2022. The city is part-owner of the 847-MW plant, and the other owners—which include Tucson Electric Power, Los Alamos County, […]

ASSESS: Analysis, Simulation, and Systems Engineering Software Strategies to enable a significant increase in usage and benefit of these technologies Clarkesville, GA ASSESS Initiative, a broad reaching multi-industry initiative to facilitate a revolution of enablement that will vastly increase the availability and effectiveness of Engineering Simulation is proud to announce that Convergent Science is a […]

Hawk Measurement Systems (HAWK), a global leader in measurement solutions, has announced that it has been awarded explosion proof, flameproof and dust ignition proof certification by FM Approvals for FM, FM Canada and ATEX standards. Adding to the existing IECEx rating, Hawk now covers all major market areas. FM Approvals is a globally recognized and […]

Arizona’s largest utility wants to support its renewable power portfolio by adding as much as 850 MW of battery storage capacity to its solar power plants by 2025. Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) made the announcement February 21. Don Brandt, the utility’s chairman and CEO, in a statement said, “Arizona is already a national leader […]

This week (Feb. 17–23) is National Engineers Week. “EWeek” as the National Society of Professional Engineers calls it, is a formal coalition of more than 70 engineering, education, and cultural societies, and more than 50 corporations, and government agencies. Its key goal: raising public awareness of engineers’ positive contributions to quality of life.  Over the […]

Danish engineering, design, and consultancy firm Ramboll Group in December  entered into an agreement to acquire U.S-based engineering and design consultancy OBG. Founded in 1945, OBG has delivered integrated engineering solutions within water, energy, environment and advanced manufacturing, and today, the company says it has extensive client relationships in both the private and public sectors, […]

Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), two giant Japanese companies with substantial stakes in the world’s power sector, are separately rethinking future business directions as sizable disruptions shake up prospects for traditional market growth. In recent months, Hitachi refined its business model to prepare it for explosive demand in  digitalization solutions, focusing heavily on grid […]

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (Feb. 20, 2019)—Zetec Inc., a global leader in nondestructive testing (NDT) solutions, introduced RevospECT® HX Pro, a commercially available automated inspection analysis software for heat exchangers in the power generation, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and HVAC industries. RevospECT HX Pro is software that automatically retrieves and analyzes eddy current data from heat exchanger tube inspections […]

GeoGenCo Nears Final Design Completion EL CENTRO, Calif., Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — GeoGenCo, LLC has completed their semi-final designs for their next generation True Geothermal 20-megawatt (MW) power plant in Imperial Valley, CA. GeoGenCo has a 15 MW Power Purchase Agreement with Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and expects to be providing power by June […]

Southern Company CEO Thomas Fanning on February 20 said construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle is on track and could possibly beat the current regulatory approved startup dates for the AP1000 units. Fanning spoke Wednesday on the company’s fourth-quarter 2018 earnings call. He said Georgia Power, a Southern Company subsidiary and the […]

An Alabama power plant that has operated for more than a century will close in April, with Alabama Power saying that the cost to comply with government regulations on the handling of coal ash and wastewater no longer make the plant economically viable. Jim Heilbron, Alabama Power’s senior vice president and senior production officer, on […]

A subsidiary of MDU Resources Group on February 19 said it plans to close three of its coal-fired units at power plants in Montana and North Dakota. Montana-Dakota Utilities said it would partly replace the lost generation with a new simple-cycle gas-fired unit at the North Dakota site. The company on Tuesday said a biannual […]

Georgia regulators on February 19 approved another $526.4 million in expenditures by Georgia Power related to the long-delayed Vogtle nuclear power plant expansion near Waynesboro, Georgia. Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) members voted 4-1 to approve a settlement agreement for the 19th Vogtle Construction Monitoring (VCM) Report, which covers the first six months of 2018. The […]

Entergy Texas on February 15 began construction of its first new power plant in 40 years. The Montgomery County Power Station (MCPS), located in Willis, will be a 993-MW combined cycle gas turbine plant, adjacent to the existing Lewis Creek Power Plant. Entergy Texas is part of Entergy Corporation, which provides power to about 3 […]

A renewable energy project in eastern Oregon is being touted as the first in the U.S. to combine wind and solar power with battery storage. Portland General Electric (PGE) plans to build the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility just north of Lexington, Oregon, the company announced last week. The utility is developing the 380-MW project with […]

The Siemens H-class turbine has been on the market for nearly a decade and has now achieved a significant milestone by exceeding one-million fired hours of commercial operation. With 70 turbines in operation on four continents and almost 100 machines sold, the SGT-8000H is the market leader in its class and delivers a top performance […]

Wärtsilä Corporation, Press release, 18 February 2019 at 2 pm EET The technology group Wärtsilä has successfully handed over projects for two Wärtsilä engine power plants installed in the Dominican Republic. The additional capacity is needed to meet the increasing electricity demand from the country’s growing tourist industry. Both hand-overs took place in December 2018. […]

The Gustav Knepper power plant in Dortmund-Mengede, Germany, was leveled by two controlled explosions on February 17. The facility had been closed for five years. The plant’s boiler house was brought down first. A 210-meter chimney and 128-meter cooling tower were leveled in a second blast, about 45 minutes after the first. The German YouTube […]

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) appears to have snagged the lead in an intensifying competition in a mostly flat market for heavy-duty gas turbines of above 100 MW, but GE retained its lead both for overall installed gas turbine capacity and units in 2018, a much-watched industry ranking suggests. Data from McCoy Power Reports’ latest […]

Pennsylvania, the nation’s second-largest nuclear power-producing state, is now definitively a battleground for nuclear power subsidies.  Last week, in two memos that were circulated in the state House and Senate, seven lawmakers signaled they would soon introduce legislation that would update a 2004 state law—the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS)—to include nuclear power. The law […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is holding a board meeting today, during which the fate of the corporate agency’s Bull Run and Paradise Unit 3 coal power plants could be decided. Permanent closure of the facilities is strongly being considered. The stakes are high, according to Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R). In a Jan. 4 […]

Voith wins modernization order for Togolese hydropower plant Nangbeto Extensive modernization ensures a future-oriented operation of the West African power plant for the next 30 years High level of involvement of local partners creates jobs on site Training courses enable the operators to handle upgraded components properly Heidenheim. Voith is the general contractor for the […]

Some combined cycle plants have two feedwater-control valves: a small startup valve with the extra cavitation protection needed during startup and low-load operations, and a larger main valve with the high flow capacity needed during full-load ops. This design is intended to yield a longer service life of these valves. However, as the plant ages, […]

Project will advance Oregon’s clean energy future while delivering affordable electricity for PGE customers Portland, Ore. Feb. 12, 2019 — Portland General Electric Company (NYSE: POR) and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), today announced plans to construct a new energy facility in Eastern Oregon combining 300 megawatts of […]

California Governor Gavin Newsom on February 12 said the state has formed a “strike team” as it works to develop plans to help not only utility ratepayers but also utility employees. The move comes in the wake of the bankruptcy filing by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) as the state’s largest utility deals with its […]

Some high-tech security features meant to protect U.S. power plants from physical attack may not be as effective as good old-fashioned fences and concrete, according to a Georgia Institute of Technology graduate who modeled security measures in a computer simulation while earning her PhD in Public Policy. Jenna McGrath, who graduated in December 2018, published […]

18-year service agreement for Shuweihat S2 IWPP in Abu Dhabi Digital services and extended intervals for optimized maintenance cost Comprehensive cybersecurity solutions to reduce cyber threats Siemens today announced it has signed an extension of a multi-year maintenance service agreement with Shuweihat S2 Operation and Maintenance Company (S2O&M). Under terms of the contract, Siemens will […]

COMMENTARY Launched last week by New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the “Green New Deal” appears to pick up where President Franklin Roosevelt left off with his “Second Bill of Rights” announced in his 1944 State of the Union Address1. More manifesto than mandate, the Green New Deal seeks to be a lens through which legislators’ […]

Multibillion-dollar energy deals that both Siemens and General Electric (GE) signed with the Iraqi government last year may not come to fruition, according to the country’s electricity minister. The Financial Times on February 10 reported that Luay Al-Khatteeb, who took his post late last year after the deals were brokered, told the newspaper, “I don’t […]

ORLANDO, FLA. — GE Digital (NYSE: GE) today announced a powerful new version of iFIX, its award-winning HMI/SCADA software, used by nearly 20,000 industrial organizations around the world for plant-wide connectivity, visibility and control. Part of the Predix portfolio, the new iFIX 6.0 improves operational productivity by providing plant operators with high performance to give […]